Accidents Happen
by WolfeShade
Summary: An accident leads to a commitment.


Accidents Happen  
  
"The night calls my name…" the voice sings on the radio.  
"Is that true?" Nat asks out of the blue.  
"What?" Nick glances at her questioningly before turning back to the road.  
"Does the night call to you?" she repeats.  
"That's a little melodramatic don't you think?" he jokes.  
"Maybe."  
"What's up Nat?"  
"I'm tired, that's all," Nat answers and looks out her window to the passing cars.  
"Why don't you put the seat back and try to get some sleep. We won't be back for another hour or so," Nick suggests concerned.  
'Not that kind of tired,' Nat thinks, but knows better than to even mutter it. Maybe she is a little sleepy though, they have been driving all night and she's driven through some of the day as well.  
Both have been key witnesses in a trial that has taken place out of town. It is on their days of no less that they have to go. It's been a long and stressful four days and all she wants now is to take a long hot bath and cuddle with her cat.  
Just as Natalie lays back the seat, Nick slams on the brakes and swerves onto the right shoulder of the road. Nat braces herself as she looks fearfully out the windshield. She glimpses three cars smashed together and a fourth heading their way.  
"Nick!" she screams before closing her eyes and holding on for dear life.  
She feels the car roll as the shoulder disappears from under them. Her head is tossed around before painfully slamming into the door window. Natalie feels something crush against her lower body right before she slips into unconsciousness.  
"Natalie!" she hears Nick's voice faintly and moans.  
"Natalie, are you okay?" Nick asks her. He has ripped the car door off her side, they car having landed upright somehow, and is kneeling beside her now.  
"What hap…" she begins before agonizing pain sweeps over her. She cries out and Nick tries to lift the dash and part of the hood off her but she cries out even louder.  
"No Nick, don't move it!" she pants when he is still again, "I'm caught on something."  
From the brief glimpse she hazarded, there was no way she could be moved, at least not by Nick. Taking a deep breath, she tells Nick and watches as his eyes display fear, sorrow and guilt.  
"Your…your cell phone. C…call for…help…ah," she manages.  
"It was in the glove box," Nick replies flatly.  
Nick's eyes widen and he reaches out to something below Nat. When his hand returns to her field of vision, she sees his fingertips bloodied. It's her blood and she now feels the stickiness on the seat where her hands grip tightly. Nick looks at her, and she sees his struggle to not lick the blood from his fingertips. She now notices just how badly he is hurt. His shirt is torn to pieces and wounds, though healing before her eyes, cover his entire upper body. It looks as though he went through the windshield and the glass tore at him as he did. Unable to resist any longer, he licks his fingers then quickly turns away.  
Wanting to tell him she understood and it was alright, Natalie moves slightly and cries out in pain again. Nick turns back to her, the guilt thick in his eyes and in his voice as he tells her to be still. He puts a hand gently on her shoulder to comfort her. She smiles ever so briefly, and is rewarded by a smile in return.  
"I'll fly and get help, just hang on Nat," Nick says.  
"Too…much…blood…loss…I…need…replace" she finishes in a whisper.  
"Natalie?" he asks, not understanding her.  
"Just a little," she manages.  
Nick nods, understanding now, and bites open his wrist. He places it over her mouth and lets a few drops fall. A shudder runs through Nat as she closes and then opens her eyes. She looks to Nick wide-eyed, the feelings and images are intense. Already, she feels a little strength returning to her.  
"Hold on Nat, I'll be right back," Nick says, almost prayer-like, then flies off into the slowly brightening day.  
Trying to move as little as possible yet keep herself awake, she leans her head back and goes over the memories she has just been given. They fade quickly, but she retains one image and holds on to it dearly. It is of Nick with long hair and in a long shirt of some kind. Nat had the sense of tunnels surrounding him and that he was lost.  
A bright light and a voice calling out woke her from her doze. It is daylight when she opens her eyes and her first thought is if Nick has found refuge or not. She faintly understands the men around her as they work on getting her free. One, a paramedic, puts a needle in her arm and she breathes easier as the pain subsides. A final jolt of intense pain and a gush of blood as they manage to free the piece of metal from her body cause her to black out completely.  
Visions of doctors break through the blackness intermediately. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows she is being operated on. Snippets of loud and chaotic conversation filter through and she knows her situation is bad but she seems not to care. Numbness fills her mind and body. The doctors and the sounds of their conversations continue to encroach on the blackness surrounding her until finally, all is quiet again.  
The quiet and black is comforting to her now, she just wants to rest, but another voice interrupts. This one she finds familiar and welcome. It urges her to hold on, to cling to life, but it is so hard. Natalie feels wetness on her lips and weakly licks her lips. Images rush through her mind; tunnels and spilling blood and fangs. Yellow eyes glare at her out of the darkness. A voice belonging to those eyes urges her to feed and to kill. Hunger gnaws at her, and the scent of blood excites her. These images quickly disappear and a new strength fills her, yet the darkness around her is stronger. She just wants to rest.  
"Natalie, come back to me!" Nick urges after feeding her a little more of his blood. He hopes that it will be enough to give her the strength to live. He mustn't give too much though.  
Natalie sees a light ahead and moves towards it, how she doesn't know how. She finds herself in a place that seems somehow familiar. A desert surrounds her and just ahead is the light framed by a doorway. A figure moves in front of the light and beckons to her. Suddenly, she realizes where she is, this is where Nick made his decision to become a vampire.  
"Yes," the figure speaks, "He chose to live as a vampire. You have that choice now."  
"How?" Nat asks.  
"The blood he gave you, in the car and in the hospital. A person in normal health would not have been as affected by as it as you were. Your condition was too weak and his blood too strong. Make your decision Natalie Lambert," the figure commands.  
"If I go back, I will be a vampire?"  
"Yes."  
"And if I go forward, where will I go?"  
"Where you belong."  
"Where is that? Heaven or hell?"  
"That is not for me to decide, I just guide you across."  
Natalie stands shocked and bewildered and frightened. This is too much and she lowers her head to think. 'Did Nick do this on purpose?' the thought comes unbidden to her mind.  
"No, he does not know what you are going through now. He only waits for you to awaken," the figure informs her.  
Nat looks up at the figure again and sees that the doorway is closer, yet she hasn't moved.  
"You must decide soon, or the decision will be taken from you."  
Suddenly, she feels herself being pulled slowly away from the door. Her lips are wet again, and she puts her fingers to them. Blood covers her fingertips, where they touched her lips. She looks to the figure in question.  
"Nick has given you more of his blood."  
"Does he know what he's doing?" she asks.  
"No, he does not realize your condition. You must decide now. You do have the strength to resist now but if he gives you any more, you will not."  
She stares at the doorway in thought. This was too big a decision to be made with only moments to think. She is confused, didn't Nick have to bite her and drain her to the point of death first? Hoping for an answer from her guide, she receives none on this. A tiny voice inside her whispers a thought, 'Nick didn't do it yet this is happening, maybe it was meant to be.' Nat grabs onto that thought and another surfaces, 'I can look for a cure now without worrying about dieing before finding it'. Natalie makes her decision.  
"You have chosen. Return now," the figure states and Nat watches as it closes the door to her. The blackness returns to enfold her.  
"Natalie!" Nick stares in shock as the monitors around him flat line. He doesn't move from her side, only holds onto her hand and bows his head. It hurts him, it hurts him more than any other lose he's suffered. Raising his head in decision, he bares his fangs to try to bring her back to him, though he knows it is beyond that point.  
A blip from the heart monitor stops him. It's not repeated but he looks to Natalie's face intently. She moves her head to the side, and opens her eyes briefly, only to shut them again just as briefly. A great joy mixed with sorrow fills Nick as he realizes that somehow, Natalie has been brought across. She was not going to leave him; she will be with him forever now.  
Quickly, before the nurses and doctors can show up, Nick unhooks Natalie from the machines and picks her up out of the bed. Opening the window, he flies out with Nat in his arms. He takes her to his loft and lays her out on his bed. Calling the Raven, he asks Janette to bring him a few bottles of human blood. He hangs up before she can ask him why, ensuring that she would come personally and quickly. Natalie stirs and Nick sits on the bed beside her, holding her hand again and waiting for her to awaken.  
"Nick?" she asks as soon as her eyes open, "You didn't know, don't blame yourself."  
Nick sits back at these words, she knew him so well.  
"It was my decision Nick, and I don't regret it," she smiles at him.  
"You will," he assures her with a frown.  
"Maybe," she agrees, "But not right now. I'm hungry."  
"Janette is bringing some human blood over now. You will need the strength," he explains.  
Natalie's eyes don't show the disgust he expects at the casual mention of human blood. He wonders if his time with her has made her believe the darkness of this change not so dark.  
"Nicholas?" Janette calls as she enters through the skylight.  
"Here," he calls back and she enters his bedroom.  
"Ah, now I see why you wanted these," she says and hands him a case of four bottles which he places on the floor by the side of the bed.  
"Was she willing?" Janette continues flippantly.  
Natalie answers angrily for herself, "Yes."  
Janette bares her fangs, "Careful, you are a young one."  
Nick stands up, "Out Janette. Thank you for the blood, now go."  
Janette leaves with a snarl.  
Sitting up, Natalie reaches over the side of the bed and grabs one of the bottles. She opens it quickly, smelling the blood inside, and drains it. Nick watches and sorrow again fills him. He leaves the room as Nat grabs the second bottle, he doesn't want to see this, and he never wanted to see this.  
The shower runs a few minutes later as he sprawls on the couch and gets lost in his thoughts. Memories of his attempts at bringing others across haunt him. LaCroix's words of warning echo in his mind. His own words that he would never bring her across jab at him.  
"Nick?" Nat calls from the railing above.  
"I'm down here," he answers.  
Using her new abilities, Nat flies down and lands on the couch beside him. She is wearing one of his silk pyjama tops and his robe. She smiles at him but only gets a glimpse of horror in his eyes before he turns his head and gets up off the couch. Frowning, she gets up and follows him. They pause in front of the fireplace facing each other. Nick moves to leave, but Nat grabs his arm and stops him.  
"This is happening Nick, we have to deal with it, we have to be strong right now," she encourages him, "The important thing now is that we are together. Nick, I love you."  
"Natalie, I never wanted this to happen. You don't know the sorrow this causes me or the evil you've gotten yourself into," he argues.  
"I love you, that's what matters," she replies simply.  
Finally, those words sink in and Nick looks at her with a faint smile, "I love you too Natalie."  
Nick takes her face in his hands and kisses her gently. Nat wraps her arms around his neck and returns the kiss. They break apart eventually, and just hold each other. He misses the warmth she used to give him, but admits that now he wouldn't have to suffer leaving her behind or watching her grow old. She no longer feels the coldness of his skin and rejoices at the thought that they would be together forever now.  
"How touching," LaCroix's voice chimes in from the above railing, "A new member to the family."  
"LaCroix, what do you want?" Nick asks.  
"Just to see my new granddaughter. Janette informed me right after she left here. I'm glad you finally made the decision Nick, now we can leave this place," he says.  
"Leave?" Nat asks.  
"We might have to. I had to get you out of the hospital quickly so I just took you from the bed. They also knew that you had flat lined. I'm sorry Nat, you can't go back," Nick apologizes.  
"That's okay, I was getting sick of my job anyway," gathering her courage she faces LaCroix, "So, where do you want to go…grandpa?"  
LaCroix laughs and joins them on the first floor, "How does Paris sound? Janette has been bugging me to return there for a while now."  
Nat looks to Nick and smiles. He holds her tighter, "Okay, Paris it is."  
LaCroix laughs again, "I'll make the arrangements," then leaves as quickly as he arrived.  
Nick watches him go with fear. Natalie has only had brief exposures to LaCroix up until now. He will have to protect her from the full force of LaCroix's will now. Nick might be the one that brought her across, but in LaCroix's family, LaCroix was the master. He will also have to shield her from Janette's moods. Even with all that, Nick's frown turns to a smile as he stares after LaCroix, he had Natalie forever now. 


End file.
